


Rescue from District 9

by Sammie2244



Category: ATEEZ (Band), Stray Kids (Band), TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, District 9 - Freeform, Experiments, Rescue, Superpowers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-15
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:48:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25725403
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sammie2244/pseuds/Sammie2244
Summary: District 9, a place no one ever wants to go.  There are stories about what goes on there, but everyone knows that once you’re there, you don’t usually make it out.  Alive at least.When six of the eight members of Stray Kids are captured and transported to District 9 to be experimented on due to the fact that they have superpowers, it is up to ATEEZ and the remaining two members of Stray Kids to figure out a way to find and save their friends and get them out alive.Will they be able to rescue them?  Will they all get out alive or will they lose someone in the process?Note: None of the characters are idols in this story
Comments: 11
Kudos: 44





	1. Characters

**POWERS:**

  * Park Seonghwa 
    * Powers: Healing, life-force detection
    * Weakness: Can’t keep it up forever, can only do it as long he has enough energy
  * Kim Hongjoong 
    * Power: Lie detection
    * Weakness: Needs to be able to both see and hear the person
  * Jeong Yunho 
    * Power: Light Manipulation (Photokinesis)
    * Weakness: Darkness
  * Jung Wooyoung 
    * Power: Camouflage ( _he can blend in to any environment and remain unseen as he moves around – like invisibility – then turn himself visible again at will. He can also turn objects and people invisible if he is touching them_.)
    * Weakness: Anyone who has enhanced senses and is able to sense him coming even if he is using his power.
  * Choi San 
    * Power: Teleportation
    * Weakness: Unknown
  * Kang Yeosang 
    * Power: Precognition
    * Weakness: Knows what and where something will happen, but not exactly when.
  * Song Mingi 
    * Power: Electricity (Electrokinesis)
    * Weakness: Water and how much energy he has/uses
  * Choi Jongho 
    * Power: Super Strength
    * Weakness: Unknown
  * Bang Chan 
    * Powers: Healing, Power Sensing
    * Weakness: Can’t keep it up forever, can only do it as long he has enough energy
  * Lee Felix 
    * Powers: Water Manipulation (Hydrokinesis) and Ice Manipulation (Cryokinesis)
    * Weakness: Heat, electricity, and oil
  * Seo Changbin 
    * Powers: Weather Manipulation (Atmokinesis) and Air Manipulation (Aerokinesis)
    * Weakness: Unknown
  * Kim Seungmin 
    * Power: Levitation ( _can also levitate others but needs to be able to see them_ ) 
    * Weakness: Unknown
  * Han Jisung 
    * Power: Telekinesis
    * Weakness: Blindness, needs to be able to see
  * Yang Jeongin 
    * Power: Super Speed
    * Weakness: Fear of small, enclosed spaces
  * Hwang Hyunjin 
    * Power: Intangibility ( _ability to alter his atoms in such a way that he can walk through walls, or let things like bullets pass through him, harmlessly_ _, his power can also do the same to other people if he's touching them_ )
    * Weakness: Unknown
  * Lee Minho (Lee Know) 
    * Powers: Mind Control and Telepathy
    * Weakness: Needs to be able to see the person physically, but it doesn’t have to be eye contact.
  * Choi Yeonjun 
    * Power: Fire Manipulation (Pyrokinesis)
    * Weakness: Water and lack of oxygen
  * Choi Soobin 
    * Power: Force Field
    * Weakness: Unknown
  * Choi Beomgyu 
    * Power: Shapeshifter – human or animal
    * Weakness: If he is imitating a person, there will always be something different, even if it is just the smallest of details (e.g. a freckle where there isn’t one usually)
  * Kang Taehyun 
    * Powers: Plant generation and plant manipulation (can create and control plants), Enhanced senses
    * Weakness: 
      * Lack of water
      * Enhanced senses: 
        * Sensory overload if used too much
        * Drugs or other means can either negate or remove these senses unless they are reversible
  * Huening Kai 
    * Power: Flight - has retractable wings that give him the ability to fly. 
    * Weakness: Unknown 




	2. Chapter 1

When Lee Know finally awoke, he felt strange. His brain felt fuzzy, like he was on some form of drug and was unable to think properly and slowing down both his cognitive function as well as his physical movements. It took him a moment, but when he finally looked around, he noticed that he was in an unfamiliar room. It was all white and devoid of any form of decoration. The only items in the room were a bed, which he was currently lying on, and what looked like a drip that you would find in a hospital with a tube coming out of it. The liquid contained within the bag was not clear, however, but a deep Egyptian blue colour. 

He frowned for a moment before a realisation dawned on him. His eyes lazily followed the tube from its origin, connected to the drip, to where it was connected to his own arm. His eyes widened at seeing this. Up until this point, he hadn’t been paying attention to what he was wearing or if there was anything connected to him. Despite his slowness, he began to realise that the liquid must be the cause of his current condition. He had to get it out of him. However, as he tried to lift one of his arms, he realised that he couldn’t. It felt like it was being held in place by something. He looked down only to see that both his wrists and ankles were strapped to the bed he was on. He was being restrained for some reason. Not. Good.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening. A doctor and a nurse walked casually into the room, the doctor carrying a bag of some sort. Lee Know immediately knew that he was in danger. He didn’t need his telepathy to tell him that, and he didn’t even want to _try_ to think about what sort of things that were in the ominous-looking bag gripped tightly in the doctor’s hand.  
“Ah, Minho, you’re awake.” The doctor said simply, a malicious smile on his face. All the colour drained from Lee Know’s face. He knew something bad was about to happen and he was certain it was going to involve torture of some kind. All he could hope was that what was about to happen to him wasn’t happening to his brothers.

* _ATEEZ and Stray Kids house_ *

Hongjoong and the rest of ATEEZ had been on edge ever since six members of Stray Kids had been taken by District 9. They had all been suggesting possible ways to rescue them but no concrete plan had come together yet. Just a bundle of possible ideas. The main problem was that once people went were taken to District 9, they rarely, if ever, came out alive. Suddenly, Wooyoung piped up.  
“What if I went in just to have a look around? Camouflaged of course. San can teleport me there, we can scout the place, and then see if we can find the others.” He suggested.  
“Absolutely not. I’m not losing anyone else.” Hongjoong replied, his voice stern. Yeosang put a comforting hand on the older boy’s shoulder.  
“We’ll get them out Hongjoong. Wooyoung was just trying to help.” He said calmly in an attempt to calm the leader down. Hongjoong’s shoulders sagged in defeat and he let out a sigh.  
“I know. I’m just worried about what could be happening to them. Every horrible scenario possible is running through my head.” Hongjoong replied.  
“I understand, but they are strong. They’ll be able to hold on until we get there.” Yeosang said, a small smile on his face at the thought of the strength of not only the group’s powers, but also their personalities and drive. Yeosang himself was concerned for the wellbeing of their six friends, but in his heart he knew that they would get out. Suddenly, Jongho spoke.  
“Yeosang, did you have a vision?” He asked out of the blue. All of them looked at Jongho, surprised by his question, but then their attention went to Yeosang. With a pensive look on his face, Yeosang smiled.  
“Yes. I know the outcome and where it will be, but I do not know when.” He said cryptically.  
“What did you see?” Seonghwa asked him, his tone and expression as serious as the situation they were in.  
“I saw Jongho and Wooyoung running out of the front doors of a building, Stray Kids following closely behind. There were also five other boys with them but I didn't recognise any of them. They all got in what looked like a school bus, but it had been modified. I’m not sure who was driving but I saw the bus smash through a barrier of what I assume is District 9.” Yeosang explained. Everyone went silent for a moment.  
“Well now we know that we all get out, but how exactly do we get _in_ , and also, how do we find the others?” San asked, more of a statement than a question. Before anyone could answer him, Yunho spoke up.  
“There’s something you’re holding back.” Yunho said suddenly, looking straight at Yeosang.  
“Jongho was carrying an unconscious Lee Know.” Yeosang said quietly. Everyone went silent at this, Chan and Felix losing all colour in their faces.  
“Will we lose him?” Chan asked quietly, his tone nervous and his gaze unmoving from Yeosang. Yeosang looked down at his hands.  
“I don’t know.” He replied. His voice was soft, almost a whisper, but the silence in the room was such that everyone clearly heard his reply. Seonghwa was looking at him closely.

* _District 9_ *

Jeongin was breathing heavily, the room he was way too small than was comfortable for him, especially with his power being super speed. He hadn’t had figured out that the room fluctuated depending on whether he used his powers or not. It would stay normal size if he didn’t use his powers, but the more he used his powers, the more it would shrink until he stopped again. He guessed that they had designed the rooms around each of their weaknesses so he could only imagine some of the other rooms that his members would be in. He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts by a bloodcurdling scream of agony. That sounded like…Lee Know hyung! His eyes widened at the scream. _What where they doing to him? Who was next? How many times had this happened? How long would they do this?_ Questions flew through his head faster than Jeongin running around on a sugar high. As the screams continued, he could only hope that ATEEZ, Chan hyung and Felix hyung would figure out some way to rescue the six of them soon. 

By the time the nurse and doctor left, Lee Know was barely conscious. Never in his life had he experienced so much pain. He could barely think straight between the pain and the liquid that kept his senses clouded and body paralyzed. They probed his mind with a machine he didn’t even know the name or purpose of, but all he knew was that the pain was excruciating and he had felt every moment of it in agonising detail despite his blurred senses.


	3. Chapter 2

* _District 9_ *

The next person on the experimentation list was Han. Having left Lee Know to his own devices after their tests, the doctors and nurses moved onto him. He and Lee Know were of particular interest to them due to their powers being mental rather than physical. 

When Han regained consciousness, all he saw was darkness. He could immediately tell that something had been fastened around his eyes to prevent him from seeing anything as he could feel the relatively soft fabric around his head. He tried to reach up to remove it, but before he could, he felt his arm being held down by some sort of restraint. He decided to try see if all his limbs were tied down or just one of his arms. 

He didn't know how long he had been in the darkness, but he suddenly heard voices, a door unlock, and footsteps enter the room. He listened carefully to see how many voices he could count to see just how much trouble he was in. He could already tell by the topic of conversation that they were going to perform some sort of experiment on him, but also how painful the tests would be made him nervous.  
"Subject A-10. Name, Han Jisung. Ability, telekinesis." A man said, almost like he was reading off a fact-sheet. Han could tell it was a man by the deepness of his voice. It was almost as deep as Felix's voice. God, he hoped his brothers were ok. _Wait a moment...Subject A-10? How many 'subjects' were there if he was A-10?_ However, he didn't have a chance to think on that any further before someone grabbed his arm and something pierce his skin. He felt some sort of liquid enter his body, his body beginning to go numb.  
"We've got something special planned for you today." A different person, also male, said cryptically. His voice did not sound reassuring at all so Han knew that what would follow would not be in any way enjoyable. A million different possibilities immediately ran through Han's mind at that comment, all of them terrible. He could only imagine what they had been doing to his brothers, and he was certain that it would have been awful.  
"Are you going to at least let me see your ugly faces before you poke and prod me with whatever you have there?" Han asked sardonically. He knew it was probably a bad idea to run his mouth and he would most likely end up making things worse for himself, but he honestly didn't care. It was a defence mechanism that had kicked in the moment his body had gone numb.  
"We should gag him as well." A different voice commented, this time a female. So far, he had counted three different voices, including the one who had just spoken, so he could tell that there were at least three people in the room.  
"No, we need to hear how loud he screams, it's one of the requirements for the results." The original voice said, his tone serious. ' _How loud he screams'?_ A cold shiver ran down his spine. Despite him running his mouth and trying to hide his fear, he was honestly petrified of what they were about to do to him. He had heard the screams in one of the adjacent rooms and it sent a cold sense of fear through his body as he lay and waited blind and motionless for the pain he knew was coming.

* _Later_ *

Han's torture, sorry, " _research_ ", had just finished and the doctors/scientists, whatever they were, were removing whatever they had used on him. He couldn't completely discern what was happening, due to the fact that his mind could barely function right now, not to mention the fact that he still couldn't see anything as they had left his blindfold on throughout the entire thing and were making sure that it wouldn't come off now that they were removing the equipment.

Tears cascaded down Jeongin's face as he sat in his room, curled up in a ball on his bed, rocking back and forth as the screams of his hyungs pierced his ears. None of the rooms were soundproof so none of the screams could be remotely silenced. Han hyung's screams had finally ceased a few moments ago, but Jeongin knew that he would still be in immeasurable pain. This thought of his hyung in pain alone hurt immensely. All he could hope for is that the members of ATEEZ, Chan hyung and Felix hyung would find them soon and rescue them, otherwise the agonizing screams of his beloved hyungs might actually drive him insane.

* _ATEEZ and Stray Kids house_ *

Seonghwa was sitting in the room he shared with Hongjoong thinking about everything that had, was, and would happen about this whole situation. They, ATEEZ, needed to think of something to get Stray Kids out of the hell hole that was District 9, and soon. As Seonghwa, was the second eldest out of all of them (Bang Chan being the eldest) much of the responsibility fell on him, Hongjoong, and Bang Chan to take care of the others. Thankfully, neither Chan or Felix had been captured, but that didn't mean they weren't worried out of their mind for their brothers.

Seonghwa saw all of them, apart from Hongjoong and Bang Chan, as his younger brothers whom he never wanted to get hurt. He thought back to when Bang Chan was talking to him about his feelings about Woojin's departure from Stray Kids. Seonghwa knew that the event had hit his hyung the hardest out of anyone and, no matter how much he tried to hide it, he was struggling with bring not only the leader but now also the eldest hyung in his group. Seonghwa was intimately familiar with the burden that being the eldest in his group carried and it saddened him that this was yet _another_ weight that had been added to Chan's ever-growing list of responsibilities. He truly felt for the younger male. Seonghwa had seen how Chan was working himself into the ground, almost to the point of collapse, to take his mind off the pain of losing Woojin. He was sure that the only reason Chan hadn't completely collapsed from exhaustion yet was because Seonghwa had been secretly using his healing powers on Chan whenever he found him sleeping, which, sadly, wasn't that often. One night, Seonghwa had even found the elder leader asleep in his chair at his desk, laptop still on, in the middle of composing a song. Thankfully, he was in his room so Seonghwa could easily move his hyung to his bed, but it still hurt him that Chan was working himself so hard. He saved the song and then closed his laptop.

He was broken out of his trance by Hongjoong entering their shared room.  
"What is it?" Hongjoong immediately asked, knowing full well the look on Seonghwa's face.  
"I'm just worried, that's all." Seonghwa said quietly.  
"You were thinking about Chan hyung again weren't you?" He said more as a statement than a question. He was always good at seeing straight through Seonghwa's statements or answers even when no one else could.   
"Yes. He's so hard on himself ever since Woojin left and now with his members being abducted, I know it's going to get even worse. Especially with Yeosang's visions." Seonghwa answered, not looking up at the younger male. Hongjoong walked over to his bed and sat down beside him, wrapping his arm around the elder male for comfort.  
"Once we get them all out and things will get better." Hongjoong said, hoping his words would echo true.  
"Did you see him when Yeosang told us about his vision? Chan hyung was white as a sheet, so was Felix! I've never seen them so scared before!" Seonghwa replied, the concern on his face unmistakable.  
"I agree. They looked absolutely terrified." Hongjoong said, his expression sad.  
"I was wondering, do you actually know where District 9 is?" Seonghwa asked curiously.  
"I have an idea of its location, but we have to narrow it down. I can ask Yeosang if he saw any defining things or locations that could lead us to it, but I don't know for sure." Hongjoong replied. All they could hope was that the members of Stray Kids could hold on until Chan, Felix, and ATEEZ could find and rescue them.


	4. Chapter 3

Changbin knew that he and the rest of his group hadn’t been in District 9 that long but that didn’t mean that they hadn’t already been subject to the tortures and experiments of the scientists, whatever they were, that were trying to study their powers. However, while he had been here, he had met a few people that had been trapped there _much_ longer than he and the rest of Stray Kids had. 

“Subjects” were only allowed in one of two areas of the compound. The “common area”, which all the inmates used to socialise or eat, and their specially designed rooms. Every time they left their rooms, however, they would have special collars put on them so that they couldn’t use their powers and a guard would escort them between the two places. There weren’t many other people in District 9 that he had come in contact with, but he had met and made friends with two. Their names were Yeonjun and Soobin. Both of them were younger than Changbin himself, although Yeonjun only by about a month, but they all got along very well. Yeonjun explained to him that their friend group actually consisted of five people, but he had actually only met two of them as of right now. 

Soobin had explained to him that he, Yeonjun, and their three friends – Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai – had been friends since they were toddlers, and that their powers had appeared just before each member’s 7th birthday. Changbin also learned that that the five of them had been captured at quite an early age. Yeonjun, the eldest, was only 15 when they were caught and the youngest, Huening Kai, was only 12. None of the five boys knew how long they had actually been here though as the days seemed to blur together. Soobin told him that it had gotten to the stage where they had all become used to the torture they would receive on a daily basis in attempts to study and potentially replicate their powers, or at least figure out how they got them.

Changbin hated the idea of such nice people being trapped here for so long. He decided right then and there that they would be coming with them when they escaped from this prison. He also decided that he was going to introduce them to the rest of Stray Kids. He was sure his members would enjoy their company. 

What felt like the next day, Changbin, thankfully, was now talking to Jeongin, and Seungmin in the common area. They had all been let out of their cells at the same time for some reason and he was now telling them about the new people he had met.  
“Their names are Yeonjun and Soobin and they, along with their three other friends, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai, have been here for a long time.” Changbin said grimly.  
“How long hyung?” Jeongin asked carefully.  
“I’m not sure.” Changbin replied. “ _They_ don’t even know how long they’ve been here.” The three younger members flinched at this. They had only been there a few _weeks_ and they were already starting to feel the effects, not just of being tortured, but also the atmosphere around them. They couldn’t imagine the pain these boys had been through both physical and mental. Changbin was honestly surprised at how down-to-earth and sane these boys were considering what had been done to them.  
“You seem to like these boys a lot hyung.” Seungmin said. Changbin nodded at his statement.   
“They are very nice and I trust them as well. I am sure you’ll all like them too.” Changbin said with a smile. All of them knew that their hyung didn’t trust people easily, so if Changbin trusted them, then they knew they could as well.

Suddenly, there was an awful beeping sound and then the metal door that lead back to the cells opened and three boys were pushed in, the guard promptly slamming the door again. The tallest of the three put a hand on each of the other two’s shoulders before saying something to them.  
“Soobin-ah!” Changbin called, attracting said person’s attention. A smile appeared on the younger boy’s face and he rushed over to Changbin, two even younger boys following him. They walked a bit slower though, cautious of who these new people were.  
“Good to see you again hyung.” Soobin greeted the elder male.  
“Where’s Yeonjun?” Changbin asked curiously. All three visibly winced.  
“Yeonjun hyung, he’s, uh, he’s recovering.” The shortest of the three said, his voice wavering as he looked at the ground. He didn’t specify exactly what had happened but everyone knew immediately that the scientists must have been experimenting on Yeonjun. A heavy silence descended upon the group.  
“What about your other friends who are here hyung?” Soobin asked, desperately attempting to change the subject. “When will we get to meet them?”  
“Well, this is Seungmin and Jeongin. There are also three more who aren’t here and then another two who weren’t captured. Han, Lee Know hyung, and Hyunjin are here and Chan hyung and Felix weren’t captured.”  
“Lee Know? That’s an interesting name.” The taller of the other boys said in a questioning tone. He was as tall as Soobin, but by his face alone, he looked much younger.   
“Well, his real name is Lee Minho, but we call him Lee Know because he always knows everything and what everyone is thinking. It’s understandable since his powers are mind control and telepathy.” Changbin said offhandedly. The three boys widened their eyes.  
“He has two powers?” Soobin exclaimed, clearly impressed.  
“Yeah, a few of us have two powers. For example, I have both Aerokinesis and Atmokinesis which means I control both Air and the weather.” Changbin explained. “Jeongin has super speed, and Seungmin has levitation, that’s why he has those heavy-duty, metal boots. So he doesn’t float away.” He added, smirking at the last sentence. The three younger boys looked enthralled at what they had heard. Seungmin though, not so much.  
“Excuse me hyung! I won’t _float away_. I actually have very good control over my power thank you very much.” Seungmin retorted, a scowl forming on his face as he crossed his arms. At his behaviour, they all started laughing.  
“I should probably introduce you to these two.” Soobin said, gesturing to the two unnamed boys. “This is Huening Kai. He’s the youngest of the group.” He said, indicating to the taller of the two. Despite his height, by his face alone, he did look very young. Changbin wondered how old he actually was. “And this is Taehyun.” He said, introducing the shortest of the three of them. Everyone exchanged greetings before they then moved on to something else.   
“What are your powers?” Jeongin asked curiously, tilting his head to the side slightly like he always did when he was curious about something. Felix did the same thing so Jeongin must have learned it from his hyung.  
“I can create an impenetrable force field around anything, big or small.” Soobin told them.  
“I have retractable, white Angel wings that give me the ability to fly.” Huening Kai told them.  
“And I can create and manipulate plants and nature. I also have enhanced senses and stamina which means all my senses, along with my stamina, are heightened greatly.” Taehyun stated. By this point, all of them were extremely interested in each other’s powers.   
“That’s so cool!” Jeongin exclaimed. With that, the younger ones began to converse and get to know each other while Changbin turned to Soobin, who was watching on with a fond yet slightly amused expression.  
“So, these are the babies you were telling me about.” Changbin said to him. Soobin turned to him.  
“Yeah. Well, Taehyun is the more mature of the two, but since they are the youngest two, they are still our babies. Huening Kai is the maknae though.” Soobin said.  
“Yeah. Seungmin and Jeongin are actually the two youngest out of the eight of us. Jeongin being our maknae.” Changbin said, gesturing to the two youngest members of Stray Kids who were getting along very well with Taehyun and Huening Kai.  
“What about you?” Soobin asked curiously. Changbin hesitated, the topic still hurt to talk about, but he couldn’t _not_ tell Soobin.   
“Uh, I’m the third oldest now. Our original eldest member betrayed us and left us some time ago.” Changbin explained, his expression unreadable. Soobin’s face turned sad.   
“I’m sorry. That must have been really hard on you.” Soobin replied, his tone echoing his expression.  
“It’s not your fault. Yeah, it was hard on all of us, especially Chan hyung, who is now both our leader and eldest member. He’s never really been the same since Woojin left. It’s subtle though, but we can all see it in his eyes occasionally.” Changbin told him.  
“Wait a minute. Woojin? As in Kim Woojin?” Soobin asked, his eyebrows furrowing.  
“Yeah, why?” Changbin asked slightly suspiciously.  
“He…he is the CEO of this place. He recently inherited it from his father.” Soobin revealed. Changbin froze, his entire body feeling like an entire bucket of icy water was just dropped on him and he had then been stabbed with a thousand knives. Woojin was the CEO of District 9? The place where six of his former members were now getting tortured about their powers.  
It started to make sense. _How would the scientists know what their powers were? How would they have been able to make the rooms that they couldn’t break out of?_ The additional betrayal he felt in that moment was unlike anything he had ever felt before.  
“H-how do you know?” Changbin shakily asked him, his legs trembling in a desperate attempt to stay up.  
“You’re around here long enough, you hear things. I’ve heard the name mentioned a few times by the nurses. It was before you guys got here. They were saying how attractive and young he was or something like that. I’m so sorry.” Soobin told him. He was now holding Changbin’s arm because he could tell that Changbin was on the verge of collapse. The others had now noticed Changbin’s state and the four boys had rushed over to him.  
“Changbin-hyung? Are you alright? What happened?” Seungmin asked, trying to keep calm. Changbin looked at him, tears in his eyes. He couldn’t speak. How would he even tell Seungmin anyway? Thankfully, Soobin decided to do it for him. He looked at the other members of Stray Kids sadly.  
“It seems like your hyung, Kim Woojin, is the CEO of the company that owns District 9.” Soobin told them. Everyone fell silent at this information, not knowing what to say. 


	5. Chapter 4

When Yeonjun found out that seven new people had been captured, it broke his heart. No one deserved or should be subject to the “treatment” the scientists dished out on a daily basis. He figured that they (Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, Huening Kai, and himself) should probably be thankful that their torture had lessened slightly, but knowing that it was now focused other people didn’t provide him with any comfort or optimism. For a long time, it had just been the five of them being subject to all the testing, but now they had six other people that had been captured. People like them, people _their age_! Now that Yeonjun had met all of them, except one, and he and his four dongsaengs got along really well with all of them, he now felt even worse for them. He hoped that they wouldn’t be stuck here for a long time like he and his dongsaengs had been. No one deserved to be in this hell, least of all these boys.

At the time of their arrival at District 9, none of the scientists had come to realise their mistake of not bothering to create any specially designed rooms for Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai to dull or even nullify their powers. Of course, there was no way that they could get through the doors, and the collars had come within the first year of them being there, but they were removed when they were in their rooms. Despite the constant and painful testing and experimentation, there was a lack of anything really too dull their powers or restrain them for long periods of time. Thus, as time progressed, each of them practiced and perfected their powers so now it took no energy from any of them to use them. Of course, they still had weaknesses and they had figured out what those weaknesses were a long time ago, but they were able to work around them easily.

Yeonjun knew that, even though the scientists knew what their powers were, he also knew that they had no idea how powerful they were. Even after all the years Yeonjun had been here, he knew the scientists had never fully discovered how powerful he actually was. He was confident that, when faced with the wrath of someone with pyrokinesis, none of them stood a chance. He desperately wanted to make sure that everyone got out, but he knew that they couldn’t do it by themselves, not in their current state. 

* _In the common area_ *

“ _It seems like your hyung, Kim Woojin, is the CEO of the company that owns District 9._ ” As soon as those words came out of Soobin’s mouth, Seungmin fell silent. None of them had ever known or figured out the reason as to why Woojin had left, but it seems like they now had their answer. Seungmin’s anger towards Woojin only grew as he thought about all this. _Did he know about it? Was he the reason why the six of them were there? Was he the reason they knew about their powers and where they were?_ So many questions began to circle in his head, but he knew he had to put a halt on them for the moment and help Changbin, who seemed to be close to having a panic attack. Comforting words and breathing techniques helped to calm the elder male down. 

Huening Kai looked down at Seungmin and Changbin sadly. He couldn’t even imagine how they were feeling right now. He knew that they had a right to know this, but seeing the reactions of his new friends hearing that their former friend was now the CEO of the place in which they were trapped and tortured. Jeongin was looking at his hyungs in shock, not really knowing what to do so Huening Kai decided to go over and give him a hug. Despite Jeongin being older than him, he needed comfort as Huening Kai he could tell that was about to break down in tears and Huening Kai was going to give Jeongin the comfort he needed. He went over and gingerly wrapped his arms around Jeongin, waiting for him to hug back. Within moments, Jeongin was hugging him tightly with his head buried in the crook of Huening Kai’s neck. He could tell that Jeongin had started crying by his ragged breathing so Huening Kai then began rubbing Jeongin’s back comfortingly.   
“It’s gonna be ok hyung. I’m sure there’s an explanation for all this and know we’ll all get out of here.” Huening Kai said in an attempt to sound comforting. Jeongin didn’t reply, but his breathing was slowly becoming more even and it seemed like his tears had ceased for the moment. Huening Kai looked over at Soobin and noticed that he and Taehyun were whom he smiling affectionately at him, as if they were proud of Huening Kai for taking the initiative in comforting the young boy. 

* _ATEEZ and Stray Kids house_ *

Hongjoong was scouring the internet to see if he could find any trace of information for District 9, but any information he was coming across was few and far between. He knew that it was going to be difficult to find information about an organisation which was so elusive, but that didn’t mean he was going to stop looking. However, after what seemed like going around in circles, Hongjoong decided to go and get something to eat to see if that would help. He also decided to go and see what the others had found to see if that would fill in any holes he knew he was missing.

The first person he came across was Yeosang, who was sitting in the room he shared with Wooyoung, quietly meditating. Yeosang had informed him once before that, due to the visions he would get of the future, meditation helped to clear his mind so visions would come more easily and more clearly to him. Now, more than ever, this is what they needed. Hongjoong decided to give him the privacy and quiet he needed and closed the door quietly so no one else would interrupt him. However, on his way out, he put the little sign Yeosang had made up on the door which they always put up when he was meditating so that no one would disturb him “ _Yeosang Meditating. Please Do Not Disturb. (Wooyoung, if you need to get something, BE QUIET!)_ ”. Yeosang must have forgotten to put it up when he decided to meditate.

As he was about to turn the corner that lead to the living room, two figures whizzed around the corner, nearly knocking him over. He immediately turned around to see San and Yunho disappear into their shared bedroom. Now, usually, he wouldn’t pay _too_ much attention to his members running through the house, but at a time like this, it did look slightly suspicious. He had been on high alert ever since the six members of Stray Kids were taken and he didn’t want anyone to do anything stupid. With that in mind, he decided to investigate.

As he got closer, he could hear the two younger boys speaking in rushed tones, almost as if they had suddenly realised something and needed to write it down before they forgot it. This only peaked Hongjoong’s interest further. He proceeded to open the door which, in turn, caused two heads to snap towards him and the room fell silent.  
“What are you two plotting?” Hongjoong asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes slightly. By the looks on their faces, ‘plotting’ was definitely the right word.  
“We were talking about Yeosang’s vision just now and Yunho had an idea…” San began.


	6. Chapter 5

Woojin’s office door slammed open, startling his assistant and gaining her full attention. He had just learned that six of his former members from Stray Kids had been taken by District 9, a science division that he only now discovered was connected to the company he had recently inherited from his father. He had heard about District 9 but had never imagined that it was owned by or even connected to his company. 

Whilst he was reorganising some of the things in his office, he had discovered a USB drive in the bottom corner of one of the drawers which he thought might be important so he decided to have a look at what it contained. He plugged it into his computer to see what it contained. Confusion adorned his face as he saw the folder ‘District 9’ appear on the screen. As soon as he opened the folder, that confusion morphed to sparks of anger the moment he deciphered what it was. It was up-to-date information, which was being continuously updated (how, he didn’t know), on research on his friends and their powers along with a few other ‘subjects’ whose names he didn’t recognise as well.

“Why did I not know about this?” Woojin demanded, fiery anger in his eyes but his face. looked as cold as ice.  
“What do you mean Sir?” His assistant asked, extremely nervous of the look on his face.  
“District 9.” He said simply, holding up a USB drive. All the colour from his assistant’s face drained and she looked white as a sheet. By the look on her face, Woojin knew that she knew exactly what it was.  
“Y-your father thought it best if you didn’t know.” She replied, hesitantly. His eyes narrowed.  
“Well he’s not the CEO anymore. _I_ am. I should know these things. I am aware that I have a lot to learn, but how can I when people hide things from me. So, I will ask again. Why did I not know about District 9?” He said, repeating the question.  
“My answer remains the same. Although I apologise for keeping this from you.” She replied meekly, bowing her head and looking down.  
“I want to see them.” Woojin said to his assistant, more of a demand than anything else. She looked up at him suddenly almost as if she couldn’t believe the words that had just come out of his mouth.  
“Sir, I really would strongly advise against it.” His assistant advised him hesitantly. He looked at her and raised a single eyebrow.  
“Why would that be?” He asked, his tone bordering on sarcasm as he crossed his arms.  
“A few of them are still recovering.” His assistant responded honestly although by the look on her face, she knew that she had just opened up a whole new can of worms.   
“Recovering from _what_ exactly?” Woojin asked, his voice low, a silent warning indicating that she should choose her next words _very_ carefully.  
“Their treatment.” She said timidly.  
“Treatment?” He asked, his voice challenging.  
“For a few weeks now, the program known as District 9 has been testing their abilities in order to discover how powerful they are, what they can do, and whether their powers can be replicated or not.” His assistant revealed.  
“You mean to tell me that the doctors and nurses have been experimenting on them in order to see if they can replicate their powers, not caring whether they survive or not?” Woojin asked, more of a statement than a question, attempting to contain his ever-growing anger. The assistant stayed silent, giving Woojin all the confirmation he needed. “Lee Chanya, I demand to see them at once. If you prevent me from doing so, you _will not_ like the consequences.” He said. Chanya lowered her head and bowed, getting up to lead him towards the District 9 compound.

Once Woojin got to the floor where Stray Kids were being held, Chanya told one of the nurses what Woojin had requested. The nurse looked nervous, but she couldn’t refuse, all she could do was nod. With that, Chanya went back to her office and the nurse began to lead Woojin towards the boys in question. 

The first one Woojin visited was Changbin. As soon as he opened the door, he saw him. Changbin was sitting on the bed provided for him reading a book with what looked like an electronic collar securely fastened around his neck. At the sound of the door opening, Changbin looked up from his book and in the direction of the door. The moment he saw Woojin, however, his face darkened.  
“You.” He said venomously. Clearly Changbin had obviously not forgiven him in the slightest for what he did. Nor did Woojin expect him to.  
“Changbin, let me explain.” Woojin began, but Changbin cut him off.  
“Don’t. I don’t need to hear any excuses or explanations. You left us without looking back. You betrayed us. Not just that, but your behaviour while you were with us was inexcusable. Was it your idea that we end up in this situation? Was it you who ordered all the experiments, the pain, the misery being inflicted upon us?” He asked, throwing accusations at him.  
“I had no idea they were doing all this to you until a few hours ago. I didn’t even know they had taken you!” Woojin replied honestly. While he wouldn’t refute Changbin’s initial accusations because he knew that it was true.  
“Oh really? Then how did they know what our powers were? How did they have the time or resources to put together special rooms for each of us? _How did they know where to find us?_ ” Changbin demanded, firing questions at his former group member.  
“I don’t know!” Woojin fired black. Getting mildly annoyed at Changbin.  
“You are the _CEO_ Woojin! You’re _supposed_ to know.” Changbin exclaimed.  
“I don’t know every little detail that goes on yet. I am still learning about everything.” Woojin responded. Changbin’s expression of noticeable irritation didn’t waver.  
“Well then, why don’t you ask any of the _lovely_ nurses or doctors in this disgusting place what has been going on in Lee Know’s room? Or in Han’s room? What was the cause for all the screams of agony coming from each room? We’d all _love_ to know.” Changbin fired back at him, his voice laced with obvious malice. “In fact, ask the doctors to give you each of our files, find out what they have been doing to us if you really don’t know.” Changbin sneered. Woojin froze at Changbin’s half-questions, half-accusations. “I can tell you that it’s worse than anything you did to us.” His last comment caught Woojin’s attention. He immediately turned to the nurse slightly behind him.   
“What _exactly_ were you doing to Lee Minho?” He demanded with more venom and malice than Changbin had ever heard from him.  
“Sir, you have to understand-” She began, her voice wavering slightly, but Woojin cut her off.  
“Do _NOT_ make me repeat the question.” He said, his tone authoritative but also deathly calm. The nurse recoiled slightly.  
“D-Due to his duel powers over the mind, w-we were attempting to figure out what caused them and if and how they could be replicated.” The nurse replied meekly.  
“Have you been doing the same to the others?” Woojin demanded. She hesitated briefly. “ANSWER ME!” He commanded.  
“Y-Yes.” She replied, her voice barely above a whisper. Woojin was furious, no, he was beyond furious. When he initially found out Stray Kids had been captured from Chanya, he had been angry, but finding out they were kept in special rooms according to their weaknesses, experimented on, and tortured, he was absolutely fuming.  
“Leave us.” He ordered the nurse. She bowed immediately.  
“Press this button when you want to leave.” She said, handing him a device. “I will wait outside. Woojin nodded silently and she left the room, closing the door behind her.  
“What can I do to help get out all out of here?” Woojin asked two seconds after the door closed, his voice low as he walked over to Changbin and sat down on his bed.  
“You really want to help? Call ATEEZ or Chan hyung. You should know their numbers. They know where we are and will most likely be looking for a way to get us all out. Also, make sure that when we get out, Choi Soobin, Choi Yeonjun, Choi Beomgyu, Kang Taehyun, and Huening Kai leave with us.” Changbin told him, his face and voice still showing contempt towards the older male.  
“Who are they?” Woojin asked curiously. Changbin had an unreadable look on his face but Woojin could tell in his eyes that Changbin still held resentment towards him.  
“Some friends that have made this horrible place slightly more bearable. They have been here a lot longer than all of us, so make sure that when we get out, they go with us.” Changbin replied after a short pause. 

* _Elsewhere in the compound_ *

Taehyun was sitting on his bed, reading a book that he had requested. In between “sessions”, they were all given things to keep themselves occupied with. For Taehyun, when he wasn’t socialising or perfecting his powers, or exercising in some way, he was sitting on his bed reading. Over the years he had accumulated a bookcase full of books, all of which he had read and reread countless times, but never did they seem to become boring. He truly felt sorry for the new boys. They were all really nice and none of them deserved to be here. No one did.


	7. Chapter 6

Woojin’s anger did not subside as the nurse lead him to the next room. He knew he had to visit all the members of Stray Kids that had been captured and that was exactly what he was going to do. The next room Woojin was taken to was Lee Know’s. As soon as the door opened and he saw Lee Know, his heart broke. He was lying on a bed, barely conscious, connected to some liquid that Woojin wasn’t sure the purpose of. He was also connected to a heart monitor which, too Woojin’s relief, was beeping steadily, letting everyone know that he was still alive. He walked over to the younger boy, stood by his bed and leaned down slightly.  
“Lee Know?” He said, using the younger’s nickname to try and gain his attention. Sadly, no answer nor even the slightest reaction.  
“He can’t hear you Sir.” The nurse said, shaking slightly. Woojin stood straight and turned to her, glaring at her with a steely gaze which obviously sent shivers down her spine.  
“Why?” He asked, his voice stern. She hesitated which told Woojin something was wrong. “Spit it out.” He ordered.  
“The blue liquid he is connected to is meant to control his powers, but as a side effect it seems to dull his movement, senses, and consciousness as well. Even when he is conscious, he doesn’t really do much.” The nurse told him timidly.   
“Let me see if I have this right. In order to study his powers, you connected him to something that controls his powers but at the same time keeps him in a near comatose state?” Woojin said, more of a statement than a question. The nurse flinched.  
“That is one way to put it, yes.” She replied hesitantly.  
“If you have not found any benefit of keeping him on it other than dulling his senses, take him off it now.” Woojin demanded. The nurse paused for a moment.  
“We only keep him like in between experiments so it doesn’t null the pain. It just keeps him unconscious.” She replied timidly.   
“So you don’t even keep them unconscious or on any form of pain medication _when you are experimenting on them_?!” Woojin raged. The nurse flinched at his tone.  
“N-no. We need to see what their full reactions are to what we are doing.” She replied timidly. With one last look at Lee Know, he looked back at the nurse, a cold look on his face.  
“Take me to the next person.” Woojin demanded, leaving no room for argument. Even though he was absolutely furious by this point, a plan to help get everyone else was already beginning to form in his mind. Despite his anger, he thought it was probably a good thing that Lee Know wasn’t awake when he went in to see him. Woojin knew he could be torn to shreds since Lee Know hated him as much as, if not more than, Changbin did due to his actions when he was part of Stray Kids.

The third room they visited was Jeongin. Woojin he was terrified as to what Jeongin’s reaction to all this would be. He knew that the younger had always been reliant on and close to all his hyungs so this had to have taken a toll on him. He opened the door to see Jeongin sitting on his bed reading a book that he had been given. At the sound of the door opening, he lifted his head to see who it was. Obvious fear turned to shock and nervousness as he saw who it was. What broke Woojin’s heart the most was the fear in Jeongin’s eyes at the simple sound of a door opening.  
“Woojin-ssi? What are you doing here?” Jeongin asked, tilting his head sideways in a questioning manner, a habit he must have subconsciously picked up from Felix. Woojin had to admit, Jeongin calling him ‘Woojin-ssi’ instead of ‘hyung’ stung a little. But he knew he deserved it for so many reasons.  
“It’s a long story. More to the point, what are you and the others doing here?” He asked.  
“They attacked us and brought us here. Only Chan hyung and Felix hyung escaped. They have been doing horrible experiments to us. Lee Know hyung, Han hyung, and Hyunjin hyung especially. I can tell their screams apart by now.” Jeongin explained, not meeting Woojin’s gaze and bring his knees up towards his head, curling into a ball. He was uncomfortable with Woojin being there, but he hoped it didn’t show too much.  
“Have you had many experiments?” Woojin asked.  
“Some, but not as many as the others. Super speed doesn’t seem to be as interesting to these people as something like telekinesis or pyrokinesis. None of the rooms are soundproof though so all the screaming is slowly driving me insane.” Jeongin explained.  
“Pyrokinesis? I didn’t know any of you had that.” Woojin said, slightly confused.  
“Not us, one of the other boys who is here. His name is Choi Yeonjun. He and his friends are very nice.” Jeongin explained.  
“Oh, yeah, Changbin mentioned them.” Woojin said sadly.  
“You’ve seen Changbin hyung already?” Jeongin asked. He knew that Changbin still held a huge amount resentment towards Woojin for many reasons, some that Jeongin himself didn’t even know about. Jeongin himself didn’t hold the amount of resentment towards Woojin that Changbin and some of his other hyungs did, but Woojin did hurt him greatly and there was still a place in his heart that hurt every time he thought of Woojin or someone mentioned him and he wasn’t going to forgive him easily.  
“Yes.” Woojin replied sadly.  
“Anyone else?” Jeongin replied.  
“I’ve seen Lee Know.” Woojin replied, looking down. Jeongin frowned slightly.  
“How is he? I haven’t seen him since we got here.” Jeongin asked, a look of apprehension on his face. Woojin’s expression turned sad.  
“Honestly, not good. They’re keeping him in a near-comatose state so he isn’t able to use his powers, only taking him out of it when they need to experiment on him.” Woojin revealed. His heart broke at the devastated expression on Jeongin’s face. Immediately, tears began to form in his eyes and he didn’t even try to hold them back. Woojin went over to Jeongin, sitting down next to him, reaching out to place a hand on his shoulder. This action, however, wasn’t welcomed by Jeongin and he moved away even more. Woojin then removed his hand before continuing. “It’s going to be ok Jeongin, you and the others will be out of here in no time, I’ll make sure of it.”  
“How?” Jeongin asked in a heartbreakingly small voice.  
“I’m going to contact Chan in order to give him some inside information on how to get you guys out of here.” Woojin whispered to him. “You just need to hold on a little longer and I’ll make sure they get you out of here as soon as possible.” He added. Woojin could see Jeongin’s eyes fill with hope at the thought of him and his hyungs leaving this hell-hole.   
“Thank you.”


	8. Chapter 7

* _After visiting everyone_ *

By the time he got back to his office, Woojin was fuming for so many reasons. Firstly, there was the fact that Lee Know and Han were being kept in near-comatose states because of their mental-based powers, only coming out of them when the scientists did experiments on them. Then there was Changbin’s obvious look of contempt when he was talking to Woojin and the things he had revealed. Then Jeongin’s reaction to seeing Woojin and him telling the older male that the screams of his hyungs were driving him insane. Then Seungmin’s expressionless face and the fact that he was tied to his bed, which was subsequently bolted to the floor, so he couldn’t use his levitation powers. Then, finally, there was the electronic thing, which Woojin didn’t even know the name or purpose of, placed across Hyunjin’s eyes and strapped around the back of his head like a blindfold. He was responsive to Woojin, even though he couldn’t see him, and they had a short conversation, albeit the obvious anger and contempt present in Hyunjin’s voice throughout. It reminded him of Changbin when they were talking. The whole situation made Woojin furious. Not at them, but at the scientists, the situations they were in, and also himself. Seeing his former members in such painful circumstances hurt Woojin. 

As he walked past his assistant’s desk he paused for a moment to talk to his assistant.  
“Cancel all my upcoming afternoon meetings. I have some business I need to attend to.” Woojin stated, leaving no room for argument.  
“Yes Sir.” She replied immediately, knowing by the look on his face not to argue. He was content to see that, as he closed the door to his office, she was already on the phone. 

He locked the door behind him and went over to his desk, sitting down and picking up his phone before scrolling through his contacts to find the one he needed. He was going to help get those boys out of there no matter what the cost. He at least owed them that much. He knew that his behaviour in the past was inexcusable, but none of the members deserved this kind of pain. If he could do anything to redeem himself in their eyes, even in the slightest, he was going to help get them all out of there in any way he could.

* _ATEEZ and Stray Kids house_ *

Chan and Felix were both sitting in their shared room on their laptops, desperately attempting to find any and all information available about District 9. It wasn’t easy to find and they had to do some serious digging to find even a sliver of information, but they knew that their brothers were in danger and they wouldn’t stop until they found and rescued them.

Both of them were suddenly jerked out of their research and note-taking by Chan’s phone ringing. He expected it to be one of the members of ATEEZ with an update of anything they may have found so he answered the phone without looking.  
“Hello?” He greeted the person. As soon as he heard the voice on the other end, however, he froze and almost dropped his phone in shock.  
“Hello Chan. I need to talk to you.” A voice he knew all to well said. Woojin. Chan tried to make his voice sound as stable as possible, hoping he would succeed.  
“I’m not interested. You left us, and you betrayed our trust. I still haven’t forgiven you for that.” He replied. Much to his dismay, he could tell his voice started to waver slightly.   
“I completely understand and I don’t expect you to forgive me. I am truly sorry for everything I did, but the reason I am calling is about the boys.” Woojin said. Chan paused an eyebrow and glanced across at Felix. By this point, he could tell by the tears in Felix’s eyes that he could tell who Chan was talking to.  
“Sorry to burst your bubble but they aren’t here right now and even if they were, I still wouldn’t let you talk to them.” Chan replied quickly, his voice steadier now. Despite his kind, forgiving nature, Woojin’s departure, betrayal, and inexcusable behaviour had been a huge blow on all of them, Chan especially, which had taken him months to heal from. Heck, it still hurt when someone mentioned the elder male, even just in conversation. Hearing Woojin’s voice again hurt for so many reasons. It hurt more than Chan would admit. Woojin had betrayed them and hurt them which inevitably resulted in them forcing him to leave. But he knew that was what was best for everyone.  
“I know they’re not, but I do know where they are. They are trapped in District 9 being subject to horrible experiments.” Woojin said. This peaked Chan’s interest but it also made his stomach churn at the thought of what could be happening to his dongsaengs.  
“How could you possibly know that?” Chan asked, half shocked, half curious. _How could he have known that the six boys had been taken to District 9?_  
“It’s a long story, but I want to help you get them out.” Woojin told him. Chan’s guard instantly went up and his eyes narrowed. He knew that Woojin couldn’t see him, but it was habit by now.  
“How do I know I can trust you AND how on Earth would you be able to do that?” Chan asked suspiciously. Woojin sighed sadly and Chan immediately knew something was up. “Tell me _right now_ Woojin.” Chan said sternly, pulling out his ‘leader’ voice. By this point, he was sick of Woojin’s cryptic answers and wanted the truth. Chan heard Woojin take a deep breath in and out as if he were about to admit something. If Chan wasn’t suspicious already, he definitely would be now.  
“Part of the reason I didn’t fight when I was asked to leave Stray Kids was that I knew I was going to be forced to become CEO of the company that my father owned after he died.  
I am truly sorry I didn’t tell you about it. Anyway, the reason I know is because I found out earlier today that the company I am CEO of is also in control of none other than District 9. Apparently, it is passed off as our science and research division, but that is all lies. District 9 is actually a research facility which wasn’t listed in the company itself, but was still owned by it. I found a USB in one of my drawers and it held all sorts of information about it and the information about the subjects which was somehow constantly being updated. I want to get everyone out as soon as possible and I am sure you do as well.” Woojin told him. Chan was completely frozen at this new information. He didn’t know what to think. 

Felix wasn’t stupid. He could tell who was on the phone from the very start of the conversation purely by Chan’s facial expression, his body language and his tone. He knew that the longer the conversation went on, the more Chan looked like he was about to have a mental breakdown. He knew the older male was in desperate need of comfort but also knowing he would never actually ask for it. Chan always put other people first and his feelings seemed to take a back seat much too often. Felix knew that needed to do something about it. Chan had been there for him in the times he had needed him the most and asked for nothing in return, the _least_ Felix could do was do the same for his hyung. He got up, crossing the room quickly, and sat down beside Chan, silently wrapping one arm around his hyung and resting his head on Chan’s shoulder. He knew it would comfort Chan as he, along with the other members, had done this before and it seemed to calm him. Once Chan hung up the phone, his shoulders sagged and the tears that he had been trying desperately to hold in broke free.   
“It’s ok Channie-hyung. We’ll get them home soon.” Felix said, trying to calm his hyung down as the older male had done for him countless times. Without breaking contact, Chan turned to him and embraced him in a tight hug, Felix following suit immediately. Neither said a word, both knowing that no more words were needed. 

* _A little while later_ *

Once Felix had calmed Chan down, he then spoke up.   
“We need to tell the others about this. The sooner we do that, the better our chances of getting everyone back are.” Felix advised in a calming tone. He didn’t want to put even more pressure on his already-drowning hyung.  
“I know. It’s just hard. With all the information I just learned, I need a while to process everything.” Chan said, obviously trying to keep himself calm.  
“Would you like me to leave?” Felix asked, hoping the answer would be no. He wasn’t going to leave anyway, but he at least wanted Chan to feel like he was being given the choice. He knew that Chan shouldn’t be alone right now, but he also knew that the others needed to know about the call they had just received.  
“No. Please stay. I don’t want to be alone right now.” Chan said, his voice small. Felix smiled affectionately at his hyung.  
“Good, because I wasn’t going to leave anyway. I’d never leave you, I promise. We’re family and I don’t know what I would do without you all.” Felix replied honestly. Chan turned to look at Felix with a warm and thankful smile on his face.


	9. Chapter 8

Chan could barely believe the Woojin of all people would be the one to give them the vital pieces of information they needed to be able to get the others out of District 9. Chan had never, and would never, forgive the elder male for what he had done, but he had to give him some credit for providing insight and information on how to get the others out. He was smart enough to take it with a grain of salt, however, due to his complete lack of trust and respect for Woojin, but if there was anything that would help them get his members back, then he was open to at least trying.

Chan and Felix then called a group meeting with everyone to tell them about the phone call Chan had just received.   
“There is a reason I called you all here.” Chan announced. Everyone frowned slightly.  
“Ideas for the rescue mission?” San guessed. Both Chan and Felix raised their eyebrows.  
“It’s related to that, yes.” Chan replied. Expectant looks immediately formed on everyone’s faces. It was then that Chan became nervous. Thankfully, Felix noticed this and gently took his hand, squeezing it to comfort the elder male. Chan looked at him and smiled before looking back at everyone else. “I received a call from Woojin a while ago with information for us to help get the rest of the boys out of District 9.” Chan revealed. This shocked everyone in the room.  
“Two questions. 1) How on Earth would he know that they were there, and 2) Why is he helping us?” Hongjoong asked almost immediately.  
“Apparently, one of the reasons he left was that he was being forced to take over his father’s company. He said that he only just found out that District 9 is a secret part of the science division of the company he is CEO of and is owned by his family.” Chan replied.  
Mouths fell open at this revelation.  
“Excuse me?!” Seonghwa, of all people, all but screeched.  
“He said he didn’t know about it up until earlier today, but he wanted to help us get the boys out of there as soon as possible.” Chan said, attempting to calm his dongsaeng’s oncoming rage.   
“He fucking better. There is nothing he can do to completely redeem himself in my eyes, but if he does this at least, it will stop me from wanting to impale him with a sharp object every time I see him.” San growled. Wooyoung, despite being equally as irate, placed a calming hand on his hyung’s shoulder.  
“I know hyung. But if it helps us get the others back, shouldn’t we at least consider it?” Wooyoung asked, more of a statement than a question. This seemed to soothe San’s anger a little bit, sported a very deep frown.

Despite the looks of annoyance at Woojin on everyone’s faces, they decided to incorporate the information they have just received. The ten boys moved to the room where they kept all their planning.

The longer they worked, the easier their plan came together nicely and they hoped to have the other members of Stray Kids back with them very soon. They were all still a bit on edge about Woojin’s information. He had betrayed them once, what was there to stop him from doing it again? But they were desperate by this point and they trusted Chan completely, as if Chan believed that this might work, they knew they should at least entertain the idea.

* _District 9 compound_ *

Changbin was sitting in his assigned ‘room’ writing some lyrics in a notebook that he had asked for. He didn’t know when his next ‘session’ would be so he was talking this chance to calm his thoughts down, even just a bit. He was still outraged that Woojin was the CEO of this hellhole, despite claiming that he didn’t know anything about it until recently. Changbin didn’t trust him one bit after everything he had done, but if he followed through on his promise to help set them all free, then Changbin’s hatred towards him may start to recede slightly.

Hyunjin had lost count of how long he had been strapped to what looked like the chair of a doctor’s surgery with a device attached to his face. It was a metal device with various smaller electronic devices attached to it that covered his forehead, eyes, and most of his nose. The device, which he still didn’t understand the use of, was held in place by black, blindfold-like straps fastened securely, if not a little tightly, around his head. He knew that the wires that were all attached to each of the electronic devices on the headset. There was a glass-like panel on the lower part of the device, over his eyes, which Hyunjin was able to see out of. His vision however, was tinted a yellowish-green due to the light emanating from the electricity. 

Along with the device on his face, he was also wearing gloves with wires and metal devices attached to both the glove and his skin, leading up and attached to glowing fingers, alive with electricity. These gloves both subdued his powers and sent a powerful, painful shock through his entire body if he even tried to use his powers or try to remove the equipment attached to his head or even said gloves. 

The first time he came out to socialise with everyone, it was slightly disorientating at first. Partially because he was recovering from another experiment, and partially due to having the thing on his head for so long and now seeing the world in its normal colour, not through a glowing green screen, but he came around quickly. What puzzled him most though was, even though they took the electronic blindfold and gloves off when he left the room they had placed him in, they attached small metallic disks, the size of his thumbnail to each of his temples, whilst also clamping a collar around his neck as a replacement for his normal contraptions. 

As soon as he entered the common area he saw Jeongin, Changbin, and Seungmin talking to four unknown people. He walked over to them calling his friends’ names in the process. All seven heads turned towards him. His three friends’ faces lit up with a mixture of happiness, relief, and…slight confusion. He guessed that was probably due to the metal devices attached to each of his temples.  
“Hyunjin hyung!” Jeongin exclaimed, his face lighting up in excitement and sprinting over to Hyunjin, effectively throwing his arms around him. This confused Hyunjin slightly because he knew that Jeongin was never really one for physical contact, but he melted into the hug nonetheless. Honestly, after all he had endured this morning, it was an amazing feeling to receive even a simple hug from his dongsaeng.

A few moments later, Jeongin released him, taking his hand and leading him over to Seungmin, Changbin, and the four people Hyunjin hadn’t met yet. They seemed nice enough and if his hyung and dongsaengs trusted them then Hyunjin supposed he could too. One thing he _did_ notice though, was that they were all unnervingly tall. Even the shortest one looked like he was at least the same height as Seungmin, . Once they got over to them, he got greeted with a double hug from Seungmin and Changbin. Once they had finally let go, Hyunjin started swaying slightly. Changbin and Seungmin both immediately steadied him.  
“Are you alright Hyunjin-ah?” Changbin asked immediately,   
“I’m ok hyung.” Hyunjin replied with a strained smile. Changbin narrowed his eyes sceptically, not believing his dongsaeng for a second.  
“No, you’re not. What is it?” He stated.  
“I, um, I had a procedure not long ago and I was recovering when they forced me to come here.” Hyunjin mumbled, sitting down on one of the chairs. Seungmin, Jeongin and the four unknown people gasped in horror, and Changbin looked like he was about to murder someone. “But that doesn’t matter right now. You still haven’t introduced me to your friends.” Hyunjin said, trying to calm the oncoming storm.  
“Doesn’t matter?! What do you mean it doesn’t matter?! You _just_ had a procedure and they are making you do something!” Changbin exclaimed, his face now red with anger.  
“Changbin hyung, I’ll be ok. Please don’t make a scene.” Hyunjin asked calmly. “Now, why don’t you introduce me to your friends the height of trees?” He asked, a smile on his face. While Changbin calmed down, Seungmin introduced each of them. 


	10. Chapter 9

* _ATEEZ and Stray Kids house_ *

Each day that passed was yet another day the captured boys were suffering. They had been planning their rescue for the past two weeks and now, thanks in part to Woojin, they knew enough about District 9 to know how it worked.

Yeosang was, once again, in the room that he shared with Wooyoung attempting to meditate. However, as was common recently, he couldn’t bring himself to relax and calm his mind. All he could think about were his visions, their plans, his friends, and what was happening to their friends inside that awful place. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t even notice someone enter the room.  
“Yeosang?” Wooyoung’s voice snapping him out of his trance. He was slightly confused as to why Wooyoung wasn’t using honorifics, but that was the last thing on his mind right now.  
“What is it Wooyoung-ah?” He asked curiously.  
“Have…Have you had any more visions about the others?” He asked carefully, almost as if he was afraid to ask. “I’ve been really worried lately, I know we all have, and I wanted to know if there was anything else you had seen. Good or bad.” Wooyoung finished. Yeosang could see the nervousness on his face and he could tell that Wooyoung obviously didn’t want to upset him, he was just worried for the others. Yeosang felt exactly the same and if the roles were reversed, he knew he would do the same thing.  
“Not recently, no. Even when I try to meditate, I have difficulty concentrating because my mind is so full of thoughts that I can’t seem to relax in the slightest.” Yeosang confessed. Wooyoung looked at him sadly, walking over to sit down on Yeosang’s bed opposite him. He knew that Yeosang’s visions came easiest and more clearly when he was relaxed or when he could focus, especially when he was meditating. If neither of those things were happening, it became much harder for him.  
“How can I help you hyung?” Wooyoung suggested almost immediately. Yeosang sighed and looked down.  
“I don’t know.” Yeosang admitted sadly. What he _didn’t_ see, however, was Wooyoung’s eyes light up as if a lightbulb had just switched on and an idea popped into his head.  
“Would it help if I sang to you?” Wooyoung offered gently.  
“That would be nice and it might help.” He replied, his voice soft. Wooyoung smiled at his hyung. He then pulled up an instrumental version of a song that he thought might relax Yeosang on his phone.   
“Close your eyes.” Wooyoung instructed. Yeosang did as Wooyoung requested and just listened as Wooyoung began to sing.

Chan was walking past the room that Yeosang and Wooyoung shared when he heard Wooyoung singing. He decided to check up on him since he wasn’t sure why the younger would be singing. He grasped the door handle and opened the door just enough so that he could peek inside. What he saw warmed his heart. Wooyoung and Yeosang were both seated on Yeosang’s bed with Wooyoung singing a calming song to Yeosang in what Chan could only assume was an attempt to calm Yeosang as they elder of the two had his eyes closed and looked like he was trying to relax. He smiled at the two before closing the door as silently as possible before making his way towards the room that he and Felix shared.

  
* _District 9 compound_ *

Changbin was sitting in his assigned cell, or “room” as the people here called it, staring at the ceiling, his mind a mess with thoughts of his friends and how they were doing. Beyond anything, he wanted to help everyone, but there was absolutely nothing he could do. He felt like he and his friends were locked in a high-security prison that took no care in the experimentation and treatment of their inmates. He hadn’t seen Lee Know or Han since they had arrived at this dreadful place and was constantly anxious about their conditions. He could tell that everything was taking a toll on Jeongin just by looking at him. He could tell that Seungmin was having a hard time having both those heavy-duty metal boots and the collar on to control his powers hold him down. He was furious that they hadn’t let Hyunjin rest at all, making him go out so soon after a procedure. The only silver lining, if you could even call it a silver lining, was that they had made five new friends in Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and HueningKai. He felt sorry for them for being here for so long and could see how strong they were simply by the fact that they were all still sane even with all the torture the five of them had endured.

He hoped that the others would rescue them soon. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take. He had faith that they would come and rescue them and, if Woojin was actually willing to help like he said he was, they probably already had a plan. Changbin still didn’t trust Woojin as far as he could throw him, not after all he did, but he would act civil if the older pulled through in his promise to contact Chan to help them escape. All he and the others had to do now was hold out until they came to rescue them from this cursed compound. He just hoped they would be able to do that.

Lee Know knew three things for sure right now. 1) He was in District 9. 2) He just had yet another experiment performed on him. 3) It hurt like hell. He had lost count of the number of times they had experimented on him, and he still had no real idea what the experiments were even testing because his telepathy had been blocked and he couldn’t read the scientists’ thoughts. Most of the time though, he felt like he was floating. Where, he didn’t know. For how long, he didn’t know. He sometimes heard voices, but most of the time, he couldn’t make out exactly who it was or what they were saying. He didn’t know how long he had been here, but he had to hold onto the hope that he and the others would be rescued.


	11. Chapter 10

* _A week later - ATEEZ & Chan_*

During the past few weeks, they had all been planning how to get everyone out of District 9 to every last detail and also determining its’ exact location. Half-way through their planning, however, something happened which shocked everyone. They had been contacted several times by Woojin. They found out that he was now the CEO of District 9, which they learned he inherited from his father when he died. Woojin hadn’t actually known everything happening in the company as District 9 was actually a research facility which wasn’t listed in the company itself, but was still owned by it. He was shocked to find out what had happened with everyone. He informed them that he wanted to help to get everyone out and destroy it as he didn’t want this to happen to anyone else. Despite how he had betrayed them, he wasn’t so much of a monster as to leave people who used to be his friends to suffer in unbelievable agony.

They then formulated a plan using the information that Woojin had given them as well as information that they had gathered themselves. They didn’t fully trust Woojin, Chan especially, so they kept that information at arms-length, but any information they could use to help would be valuable. 

They had agreed to carry out their plan within the next three days. He had decided this because they wanted to get them out sooner rather than later. They had all gone through the plan more times than they could count so they all knew it inside out. Chan, Seonghwa, Yunho, San, Wooyoung, Mingi, and Jongho would take the bus to District 9 to rescue everyone. Due to their healing powers, Chan and Seonghwa would both play a significant part in this. Both of them would be on the mission to rescue their friends. They would help break everyone out so that if there was anyone who needed urgent medical attention, they could help. 

Woojin had provided them with any and all information he could think of and find on District 9 whether it would prove useful or not – maps and blueprints of the compound, key cards, electronic lock codes, locations of the rooms the boys would be in, any experimentation rooms that the boys may have been taken to if they weren’t in their assigned rooms, along with some uniforms that the doctors and nurses wore so they could blend in to name a few. He had also provided them with two special devices that would deactivate and unlock the collars that the captured boys were forced to wear, the keys that unlocked the metal boots Seungmin was being forced to wear, and the devices and codes that deactivated and unlocked everything that Hyunjin was hooked up to. He genuinely wanted the rescue mission to succeed and they he would personally see to it that District 9 was shut down for good once he heard back that everyone was safely home.

* _A few days later – day of the rescue_ *

Using the information that they had discovered, as well as everything Woojin had provided them with, they had decided that the rescue would happen at night when, according to Woojin, the compound was not as heavily guarded. In the rescue party, as per Yeosang’s vision, were Jongho, Wooyoung, San, Mingi, Yunho, Felix, Chan, and Seonghwa. They had converted an old school bus they had found to be able to fit everyone in it. They had also painted it black so it would blend in to its’ surroundings in order to stay hidden. 

Before they left, they all went over the plan in detail to make sure they remembered everything. Yeosang also reminded them that they weren’t just rescuing the six members of Stray Kids, but also five other boys who were trapped there as well.

* _Arriving at District 9_ *

Chan parked the bus in amongst the rest of the buses in the car park close to the compound. They had done a stake out a few days prior to gauge were the entrance was, if there were multiple entrances and exits, as well as the layout of the car park so that the bus would not stand out and get them caught. 

They were all dressed in the white uniforms that Woojin had provided them with in order to blend in as much as possible. Wooyoung and San were the first ones to get out of the bus as they would be the ones to go in and completely disable the security system. Wooyoung would take both San and Mingi’s hands and make them both invisible, San then transporting the three of them to the control room to disable the security system and cameras. Mingi suggested he go with them, as it was originally just going to be Wooyoung and San, so he could just fry everything with his powers and it would give them even more time as it would take the employees even more time to fix everything. This idea was immediately agreed to by everyone as it would give them more time to rescue everyone. They had bought night-vision goggles so they could see in the dark as they were doing the rescue at night, which now would come in handy as the lights would probably go down as a result of Mingi frying everything with his electrokinesis. The three then teleported away to complete their task. 

After about five minutes, San, Mingi, and Wooyoung appeared back in the bus.  
“Security, cameras, and lights are down. It should take a while for them to get everything up and running again since Mingi fried everything to a crisp.” San announced. “Time to go.” 


	12. Chapter 11

They had split off into groups of two in order to get everyone out quicker, make sure that no one else was captured, and to make sure they blended in. The smaller the group, the easier it would be to blend in. Each group had a key card and they had any and all electronic codes that they might need as well as the assigned people they were each going to rescue and their numbers. With that, they each split off into their respective ‘teams’ and went their separate ways. 

As they made their way through the compound, Chan and Felix were especially careful about how they acted, how fast they walked, and ensuring that they were completely aware of their surroundings at all times so they wouldn’t be detected. So far, everything Woojin had provided them with had checked out but they still both remained on edge in case something didn’t work. They knew not to grow complacent, that’s how disasters happened.

Once they got to the cell area, they headed straight to their first assigned cell, the one with the sign “A-10”.  
“Felix.” Chan whispered, gaining the younger male’s attention. Felix turned to Chan, noticing the door with the sign on it. He looked down to see a, electronic combination lock on the door. It had a number pad, a panel across the top and what looked like a little light on the side. “What’s the code to get in?” Chan asked, his tone still a whisper. Felix whipped out his phone, getting the picture of the piece of paper they needed and begun reading the corresponding number.  
“527 683.” He read out in a low voice. Loud enough that Chan could hear him, but not too loud that they would be overheard. Once Chan typed in the code, there was a slight clicking sound and the light turned green, signalling the door was now unlocked. They opened the door and walked inside quietly, carefully ensuring the door was propped open so that they wouldn’t be locked in as well. Immediately, their attention trained to the figure strapped to the bed. He seemed to be unconscious, since he wasn’t moving, but it was hard to tell with the blindfold fastened tightly around his head, obstructing his vision.   
Seeing this alone made Chan absolutely furious. Chan and Felix walked silently towards Han. Once they got to his bed, they took off the blindfold and undid the straps. Chan saw that he was unconscious, as they expected. Chan then decided to use his healing powers on Han while Felix released a few drops off water on Han’s face to see if they could wake him up. A few moments later, Han awoke with a start. He started blinking, looking around the room, before his eyes focused on his two saviours.  
“Chan hyung? Felix-ah? What are you doing here?” Han asked in shock.   
“We’re here to get you and everyone else out.” Felix explained. Han smiled at this.   
“Can you walk?” Chan asked.  
“I think so.” Han replied. Both Chan and Felix helped him up, making sure he could walk before heading out, closing the door quietly behind them. They wanted to make as little noise as possible.

Yunho and Mingi made their way through the compound, both on high alert and doing everything they could do blend in with their surroundings. Once they got to the cell area, they scanned the area to make sure there wasn’t anyone there before walking quietly inside.

The first door they came to had the sign “A-7” on it, along with an electronic combination lock. Mingi looked at Yunho and raised an eyebrow. Yunho nodded and got out the information from his phone.  
“471 982.” He whispered. Loud enough that Mingi could hear him, but not too loud that they would be overheard. Once Mingi typed in the code, there was a slight clicking sound and the light turned green, signalling the door was now unlocked. They opened the door and walked inside quietly, carefully ensuring the door was propped open ever so slightly so that they wouldn’t be locked in.   
“Yunho hyung? Mingi hyung? What are you doing here? How did you get in?” Changbin asked, slightly shocked but he kept his voice low.  
“We’re here to rescue you, isn’t that obvious?” Mingi said. Changbin got off the bed and walked over to his hyung, notebook in hand.  
“I’m not going anywhere with this collar.” Changbin said, indicating to what looked like an electric collar secured around his neck.   
“Let me.” Mingi replied. Changbin knew exactly what he meant so he tilted his head to the side so Mingi would have better access to the collar. With a single touch, Mingi sent a volt of electricity through the collar, frying it so it automatically unlocked, falling from Changbin’s neck into his waiting hands. He then threw it on the bed before the three of them headed out.  
“Who’s next?” Changbin asked seriously once they were out of his cell. Yunho smiled.  
“The new friends you have made. Soobin and HueningKai I believe their names are. The other teams will rescue the other three.” Yunho replied calmly but in a low voice.   
“Really?” Changbin asked, his eyes bright for the first time in months. Both his hyungs nodded. “Follow me. Their cells are not far from here.” He said, gesturing for the others to follow him.

Seonghwa and Jongho walked through the compound towards the cell area, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible while still remaining hyper-alert for any potential threats. The last thing that they wanted was to trip the alarm and blow the whole operation before getting everyone out.  
Once they arrived at the cell area of the compound, they headed straight to their first target. Cell A-1. They wanted to save Lee Know for last since they knew from Yeosang’s vision that Jongho would have to carry him out and they wanted to get the others out quickly so they had extra time for Lee Know. They just hoped that the other two weren’t in bad condition.

They finally arrived at cell A-1. As soon as they saw the combination lock, Seonghwa looked at Jongho.  
“Jongho?” Seonghwa said. Jongho nodded and got out the information from his phone.  
“153 728.” He whispered. Loud enough that Mingi could hear him, but not too loud that they would be overheard. Once Mingi typed in the code, there was a slight clicking sound and the light turned green, signalling the door was now unlocked. They opened the door and walked inside quietly, carefully ensuring the door was propped open ever so slightly so that they wouldn’t be locked in. 

As they looked around the room they saw that all four walls were white with an uncountable number of scorch marks on the walls.  
“Who are you?” They both heard a voice ask. They looked towards the voice to see a boy   
“My name is Jongho and this is Seonghwa. We’re here to rescue you.” Jongho introduced the two of them.  
“Are you members of ATEEZ? Friends of Stray Kids?” The boy asked, confirming their identity.  
“Yes, we are. What’s your name?” Seonghwa asked.  
“I’m Yeonjun.” The boy introduced himself.  
“Ok, let’s get you out of here. We have two more people to get after this.” Seonghwa stated.  
“Two?” Yeonjun asked curiously, knowing that there were _way_ more than just three people here.  
“Yes. It isn’t just the two of us, there are six other people with us.” Seonghwa explained. As they started moving, closing the door quietly behind them.  
“Ok. Who’s next?” Yeonjun asked, his voice low but audible to Seonghwa and Jongho.


	13. Chapter 12

Wooyoung kept a tight grip on San’s hand, keeping them both invisible as they walked through the compound. Despite this, they were both hyper-vigilant to any potential threats that may appear. 

Once they got to the cell area, they headed straight to their first assigned cell, the one with the sign “A-11”.  
“San.” Wooyoung whispered, gaining the younger male’s attention. San looked at Wooyoung, who tilted his head towards the door. He looked down to see an electronic combination lock on the door. It had a number pad, a panel across the top and what looked like a little light on the side. “What’s the code to get in?” Wooyoung asked, his tone still a whisper. Without letting go of the younger’s hand, San whipped out his phone, getting the picture of the piece of paper they needed and begun reading the corresponding number.  
“782 910.” He read out in a low voice. Loud enough that Wooyoung could hear him, but not too loud that they would be overheard. Once Wooyoung typed in the code, there was a slight clicking sound and the light turned green, signalling the door was now unlocked. They opened the door and walked inside quietly, carefully ensuring the door was propped open so that they wouldn’t be locked in as well.  
“Who’s there?” They heard a voice ask. The voice sounded nervous as they called out. To be fair, a door opening by itself with no one there would be quite creepy. Wooyoung made them both visible so as not to scare Jeongin. “San? Wooyoung? What are you doing here?” Jeongin asked nervously.  
“Rescuing you and the others. What does it look like?” San replied, smiling slightly. Jeongin’s eyes went wide.  
“It isn’t safe.” He exclaimed, trying to keep his voice down. Wooyoung smiled at him.  
“We know. It’s going to be ok. We have a plan and Yeosang had a vision that we would all get out of here.” Wooyoung replied in a calming tone.  
“Come on, we have to rescue Seungmin next.” San told the two of them. Both boys nodded and headed out of Jeongin’s cell, closing the door silently behind them.

All three boys made their way to Seungmin’s cell – cell A-9 – which was only a few down from Jeongin’s.  
“Lookout?” Wooyoung asked Jeongin. Jeongin nodded at this, turning around and making sure that nothing was coming. San and Wooyoung then turned to Seungmin’s door, looking down at the electronic lock on the door. San pulled out his phone to get the code for the door.  
“Code?” Wooyoung asked, not looking away from the door. San opened the photo, scanning it to see what the number was.  
“629 113.” San read out. Wooyoung immediately typed in the code, hearing the slight clicking sound and the light lit up green, signalling the door was now unlocked. Wooyoung opened the door and walked inside quietly, carefully ensuring the door was propped open so that they wouldn’t be locked in as well. Jeongin stayed outside on lookout whilst the other two went inside. 

Seungmin was sitting in his room, bare feet tied to his bed, reading a book he had been provided with. All he could do at the moment was wait either for his next round of torture or when they would let him out to socialise with the others. The metal boots sitting in the corner of his room ready to be put on to his feet should he leave the room. He hated those shoes. He hadn’t been able to use his powers fully since he got here and it was driving him insane. The only time he could was when they were experimenting on him and they forced him to and even then it was controlled.

The silence in his room was suddenly broken by the click of the lock which opened the door. His head snapped up and his eyes zeroed in on the door, looking at it in fear. Was it that time again? Were they going to torture him or let him out to socialise? He could never tell. He hoped it was the second one because it hadn’t been long since his last “session” and he wanted to recover before something else happened. The door swung open and Seungmin braced himself for what would happen next. He never expected what he saw. San and Wooyoung entering the room silently, propping the door open a little to make sure they weren’t also trapped.  
“What are you doing here?!” Seungmin all but hissed.  
“Rescuing you of course.” San replied. “Now hurry before we get caught.” He said to Wooyoung. Wooyoung rushed over to the foot of Seungmin’s bed, where he was restrained, getting out a knife and cutting both the straps on his ankles as well as the two straps on his thighs that held him down. Once Seungmin was free, the three of them quickly made their way out of the room to meet Jeongin.  
“Where to now?” Seungmin asked.  
“Now, the four of us make our way back to the bus and wait for the others. We have four teams for the rescue and have split up in to pairs and all know who needs to go where. You two were our assigned people.” Wooyoung explained. Seungmin and Jeongin nodded in understanding.  
“Everyone hold hands.” San instructed firmly. “I’m going to teleport us back to the bus.”  
Everyone did as asked and San closed his eyes, visualising the bus before teleporting the three of them there.


End file.
